Chapter 118
"I thought the same thing when we met at the beach... Prince Eric and Vincent are quite the characters, aren't they..."
Walking down the hallway alongside Reina, Clael said with a sigh.
In the game, both of them had very different personalities.
Eric was a refreshing and gentlemanly prince. Vincent was a bit arrogant but had the wild charm of a bossy older brother type.
Both had their youthful immaturity, but... they weren't such overtly eccentric and amusing people.
"Well? I'm not very close with either of them, so I don't know them well."
"I-I see..."
"Yes. Prince Eric and Flame-senpai... for some reason, they seem to care about me and often talk to me, but... that's all. I don't know anything about what kind of people they are."
"............"
"So... don't worry, okay? Lord Clael?"
What exactly was she telling him not to worry about?
Clael felt a chill run down his spine at Reina's cheerful words.
"I see... So that's what Prince Eric and Vincent are like... By the way, those other two we met at the beach..."
"Reina onee-chan!"
Once again, someone came running down the hallway. Despite it being the first day on the job, she was already swamped with visitors.
The one pattering down the hallway was a small boy.
It was Luei Biscuit, a shota-type romanceable character with small animal vibes.
"Reina onee-chan! It's been so long, I missed you!"
Luei ran up to her... and jumped.
Aiming straight for Reina, like a diving swimmer. It was as if he was about to slam his face into her chest.
"Rei... bugeh!?"
"Nyaa~n"
But just before impact, a small shadow appeared from somewhere and kicked Luei in the face.
For a moment, it looked just like a cat plushie.
After kicking Luei away, the cat vanished around the corner with the same momentum.
"Gueh..."
Meanwhile, Luei, who had been kicked, bounced down the hallway two or three times... and then fell right out of an open window.
Incidentally, this was the third floor. A bad landing could easily be fatal.
"W-what!?"
"Ah, shall we go down this staircase?"
"No, is this really the time to be saying something so normal!? He just fell!"
"That person... um, I can't remember his name, but with him, this kind of thing happens all the time. For some reason, he's always falling out windows or tripping and crashing into flower beds in the courtyard."
"A-all the time...?"
Now that he thought about it... even at the beach, he fell off cliffs or off the ship.
Could things like that really be happening on a daily basis?
"Reina... what kind of school life are you even living...?"
Clael was starting to feel genuinely concerned... when the door beside them opened, and a boy with glasses peeked out.
"Hey, good morning. Miss Laurel. Long time no see."
"Good morning, Rileis."
The one who emerged from the adjacent classroom was Will Rileis, a studious, intellectual-type romanceable character wearing glasses.
Will greeted them with a glint on his glasses, then looked out the window.
"Ah... looks like Luei did it again. I'll go retrieve him."
"Sorry for the trouble. Thank you."
"No, it's fine... More importantly, why is Mr. Burn here?"
Will turned to Clael and tilted his head.
"Lord Clael is starting today as the theology teacher."
"Ah... now that you mention it, the theology teacher retired, didn't they? So Mr. Burn is the new teacher."
Will turned back to Clael and gave a light bow.
"We met at the beach as well... but once again, I'm Will Rileis, Reina's classmate. I didn't choose theology, but it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise. Reina always speaks highly of you."
Clael returned the greeting to Will.
Compared to the previous three, this was a refreshingly normal introduction.
It was almost suspicious, like it was setting up for something... but Will didn't joke around and simply started down the stairs ahead of them.
"...He seems like a serious person."
"Yes. Rileis is very studious, you know? He often helps his classmates with their studies."
"I see... that's admirable..."
When he first appeared, Will was arrogant and looked down on others, but through deepening his relationship with Reina, he came to recognize his own immaturity and became more gentle.
The fact that he was tutoring classmates probably meant his route was progressing well. Compared to the other three, Reina's affection for him seemed higher.
(Better than the other three, I suppose... Well, Will's route doesn't have any major trouble in the ending, so maybe I can root for him for now...?)
"Come on, Lord Clael."
"Yes..."
As Clael walked down the stairs with Reina, those were the thoughts running through his mind.